Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) Shares Sold by Federated Hermes Inc.

Federated Hermes Inc. decreased its position in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 9.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,612,678 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after selling 172,531 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $138,368,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in Best Buy by 4.2% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 7,420 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $766,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Best Buy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $292,000. Investment Management Corp of Ontario increased its stake in shares of Best Buy by 58.0% in the 3rd quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 6,809 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $703,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Best Buy by 491.2% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 14,549 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $1,503,000 after purchasing an additional 12,088 shares during the period. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Best Buy in the 3rd quarter worth about $757,000. 80.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Best Buy Trading Down 3.1 %

NYSE:BBY opened at $60.28 on Friday. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $57.34 and a 12-month high of $103.71. The firm has a market cap of $12.74 billion, a PE ratio of 10.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $81.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.23.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The technology retailer reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.18. Best Buy had a return on equity of 45.93% and a net margin of 3.01%. The business had revenue of $13.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.72 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This is an increase from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.30%. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 88.99%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 51,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.20, for a total value of $3,784,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 55,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,144,515.20. This represents a 47.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Mathew Watson sold 2,951 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.65, for a total value of $214,390.15. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 21,371 shares in the company, valued at $1,552,603.15. This trade represents a 12.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 78,355 shares of company stock worth $5,767,213. 0.59% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on BBY. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective (down from $93.00) on shares of Best Buy in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Best Buy from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $95.00 to $89.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Best Buy from $95.00 to $81.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Best Buy from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $92.22.

Best Buy Company Profile

Best Buy Co, Inc engages in the retail of technology products in the United States, Canada, and international. Its stores provide computing and mobile phone products, such as desktops, notebooks, and peripherals; mobile phones comprising related mobile network carrier commissions; networking products; tablets covering e-readers; smartwatches; and consumer electronics consisting of digital imaging, health and fitness products, portable audio comprising headphones and portable speakers, and smart home products, as well as home theaters, which includes home theater accessories, soundbars, and televisions.